Lock



W. S. WTTEN LUCK 3 SHEETS-SHEET l FILED Nov. 14, 1919 lll/l L44@ all@ Feb. 6, i923.

W. S. WITTEN LOCK 3 sHEETsfsHEET 2 F! LED Nov I4 l 9] 9 mi www ,M numuan.

/AV /l/ w/WA 1 .llll 1 W. S. WITTEN LOCK FnLED Nov: 14. 1919 3 sHgETssHEET 3 (1B ma@ f" j (I l i f/LM l UQLMHA Patented l:1 eb. ti, i923..

WILLIATJI S. WITTEN, 0F CHICAGO, I ZLINOIS.

LOCK.

Application filed November 14, 15H9. Serial No. 337,905.

' similar devices, in which the use oit springs will be avoided, and which will be simple and substantial in construction so. that it will not readily get out oi' order, and may be cheaply manufactured. l accomplish this object as illustrated in the accompanying drawings and as hereinafter described. What l regard as new is set forth in the claims.

ln the drawings in which l have illustrated several forms in which my invention may be embodied,-

ll`ig. l is a perspective view oit part oit the door of an automobile showing my improved lock in place thereon as viewed trom the inner side ot the door Fig.` 2 is a perspective view of part of an automobile body showin@ that part of the door which cooperates with the look shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the interior of my improved lock with the lock in operative position, being substantially a vertical section on line 3--8 of Fig. l;

Fig. l is a vertical cross-section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig'. 5 is a perspective .view of part ot an automobile having my improved loclaapplied to the doors thereof;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing my invention embodied in a gate latch and lock; f

Fig'. T is a verticalcross-section on line 7 7 of Fig. 6;

S is a detail, being a partial vertical section on line 8 8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is an elevation ot part oi a farm te having applied thereto the loci: shown Fig. G;

Fig. l0 is a view showing the interior of a similar lock designed particularly for use on freight car doors, said view being substantially a vertical section on line lO-.lO of Fig. ll; l I

Fig. il is a cross-section on line ll-ll of l'fig. l0; and

Fig. l2 is an elevation, partly broken away, showing the application of the lock shown in l() to a freight car door.

Referring first to. the arrangement shown in Figs. l to 5, it will be observed that my improved latch or lock comprises a casing lil, in the form ot' a narrow rectangular box-like structure, in which is mounted a swinging latch composed oli' a shank let having at one end a cross-head l5, the lower end portion 16 oi which forms a latch member, and the upper end portion 17 of which not only `adds weight to said cross-head but i also aids in resisting` twisting strains sustained by the latch member 16, since by this construction the cross-head has an extended bearing on the side walls oi the casing. The shank le: is mount-ed vin a substantially horizontal position andis adapted to swing up and down about a pivot i8 fitted in a bearing 19 near the end ot Athe shank. 1 4 opposite that which carries the cross-head l5, said lgiearingbeing pretcrably ol'set, as shown in Fig. fl. By thus mounting the latch is is adapted to swing in a 'vertical plane so that the cross-head moves substantially vertically to project or retract the latch member 1,6 thereof through a slot 20 provided in the lower margin oie. the casing 13. Frelierably this opening or slot `is adjacent to one end ot the casing, as shown in Fig. 3, so that when the casing is applied to a door, such as an automobile door 2l, the latch member 16 will be adjacent to the outer edge of said door, as shown in Fig'. l. 2Q indicates a stop secured in the casing i8 under the shank lll to limit the downward movement thereof, as shown in 3. lt will be apparent that the latch will normally occupy the position shown in Fig'. S under the action oit gravity, and that by rocking said latch in a clochwise direction as viewed in Fig'. 3, the latch member l@ may be withdrawn into the casing. ln the construction shown in Figs. l to 5, the latch is rocked to move the latcl member lo out of operative position by mea-ns ot handles or levers 23 at opposite sides ot the door 2l and secured to the pivot 18, which is journaled in the sides oi the casing and non-rotatably secured to the shank 14 so that said shank may be swung upward by rocking said pivot. The levers 23 are illustrated as normally occupying an inclined position, but of course they may be otherwise arranged if desired.

1n order that the latch may be locked in its operative position the shank 14 is provided at or near its pivotcd end with a lug 24 which is adapted to be engaged by a bolt 25, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the arrangement being such that by projecting said bolt into the path ot the lug 24 the rocking ot the latch may be prevented. The bolt 25 may be projected or retracted in any suitable way, as by a key inserted through a keyhole 26.

Vhen the door 21 is shut the latch member 16 is adapted to engage a bevelled lug or keeper 27 which projects up into a groove 28 provided in the door jamb 29 or the automobile body 30, as shown in Fig. 2, said groove being adapted to receive the outer end of the casing 13 in the usual way. As'shownin Fig. 4, the side margins of the latch member 16 are bevelled so that when the door is being closed the said latch member rides up easily on 'thc outer bevelled face of the lug 27 and when the door has been completely closed said latch member drops down along the inner bevelled margin ot said lug, as shown in Fig. 4. By this construction the latch has a wedging action which gives it a tendency to work down more snugly in operative relation to the lug 27 under the influence ol? the weight of the cross-head so that the door is held tightly in closed position and is not apt 'to rattle. 1f desired, the latch member 16 may loe forced down manually by operating either or the levers 23, thereby locking it still tighter in operative position. l/Vhen the door is open the latch may bev freely swung upward lby pressure applied to the latch member 16 so that the doorl latches easily, and the latch does not have the tendency to stick which is an objectionable teature ot many spring operated latches.

1n Figs. 6 to 9 I have shown the same principle applied to a gate latch or lock ywith the added feature that the latch is reversible so that the latch member may be placed at either end of the casing. Also the shank ot' the latch extends out beyond the casingI to provide a handle by which the latch may be operated to unlock the gate. Referring to said tigures,-31 indicates the lock casing which is provided with Yslots 32, 33 at its opposite lower corners. indicates the shank ot the latch which is intermediately mounted upon a pivot 35 located centrally between the ends oi' the casing1 as shown in Fig; 6. and is jnoviderl at one end with a cross-head 36 forming a latch member 37 and a weighted head The latch member 3T extends through one of the slots 32 or 33, while the opposite end of the shank 34 extends through the opposite slot, as illustrated in said ligure. The shank 34 is also provided with a lug 38 at one side of its pivot corresponding with the lug 24 hereinbefore described. The latch member 37 is adapted to engage a keeper 39 secured to one oit the tence posts 40, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, said keeper having an inclined guide 41, as shown in Fig. 8. 1n this case, also, the latch member 37 is bevelled so as to secure the wedging action hereinbet'ore described. The casing 31 is provided with a locking bolt adapted to engage the lug-38, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6, said bolt being preferably mounted in a supplemental casing 43 and being ar 'anged to be actuated by a key inserted through a keyhole 44. 1n Fig. 6 two positions of the supplemental casing are indicated, one being in full lines and the other being in dotted lines. The position shown in full lines is that which the lockingi bolt occupies when the latch is arranged as shown in said ligure, but it will be apparent that itl desired the latch may be turned end for end so thaty the crosshead 36 thereo't' would be at the right hand end ot the casing as viewed in Fig. 6 instead of at the lett hand end thereof. 1n that case the supplemental casing 43 would be shifted to the position sho-wn in dotted lines and secured there by means of the screw holes provided tor that purpose, as indicated. Downward movement ot the latch member 'is limited by a pin 45 shown in Fig. 6, and in case ot' reversal of the latch as above suggested this pin would oe shifted to a pin-hole 46 provided to receive it. ln this construction the latch ismoved to its opera ive -posit-ion by gravity and is moved out oi operative position by means of the end oil' the shank 34 which projects out oi the casing, as shown in Figs. 6 and 9. 1n other respects the latch operates in the manner already described.

1n Figs. 10 to 12 my improved lock is shown applied to a freight car door which may be either of the type which moves endwise only or that in which the door swings outwardly as well as moves endwise. 1n the construction shown in said figures-4T indicates the casing ot the lock, 48 the shank oft the latch, 49the cross-head7 ande() the latch member. The latchv is mounted upon a pivot 51 in the manner previously described and its shank 48 extends out oit the kcasing to provide a handle so that it may be rocked conveniently. The casing is adapted to be secured to the outer surface of the door 52 near its lower margin. one of the locks being provided at each ot the two lower corners of the door, as shown in Fig. 12. Adjacent to the lower margins ot the door are secured keepers 53 in position to be engaged by the latch members 50, said keepers having bevelled euri-'aces adapted tocooperate with the bevelled portions ot the latch members 50, assliown at 54 in Fig. 1l, thus securing the wedging action hereinbefore described. By this means the lower margin of the door may be bound tightly against the side ot the door sill 55 as shown in Fig. ll.

' For locking` the latch either in operative or in inoperativ position handle portion of the shank i8 is provided with a lugl 56 adjacent to its pivot, as shown in Fig. l0, and said lun' is adapted to be engaged by a swinging' cam 57 mounted upon a. pivot 58 and having; an arm 59 which extends out olf the casing, as shown in said ligure. l/Vhen the cam 57 is in the position shown in full lines in Figi l0, which position it normally assumes by gravity, ashoulder 60 provided on said cam engages the end wall oi" the casing 47, thereby preventing the cam trom swinging` further to the right as viewed in saidtigure. This l eks the latch in its operative position, as it cannot be roc-hed cloclrwise as viewed in said figure, to move it out of its operative position, because oi? the engagement of the lug, with said cara, When the latch is in its operatiif'e position, however, the cam maybe moved to the position shown in dotted lines by inward pressure on the arin 59 so as tocarry the lower portion ot the cam i'ar enough to the lett to permit the lug 5G to pass it when the latch moved out ot' operative position. When the latch is in its inoperative position, shown in. dotted lines in Fig. l0, it is auto'- matically locked in that position because counterclockwise movement ot the latch tends to swingthe cam to the lel't, which movement is prevented when saidcam is in its dotted line position by the engagement of the outer end ot the arm 59 with the end Wall in the casingfil'. The latch may, however, be released by restoring the cani to its itull line position, either by hand, or by roc ring the latch a little further in a. clockwise direction and thereby permitting` the lug to return to its normal position by gravity.

In all the several forms oi locks shown and described, the latch member normally assumes its operative position under the action ot gravity, although uh An the door or `gate is open the latch responds rea/:lily to upward pi ssure so that it is easily moved into operative relation to its keeper,- iritei' engaging the keeper, however, the wedsging' action ot said members on each other holds the door or firmly in position and any tendency to vibrate the door or gate only serves: to wedge said members more tightly together, so that the door or gate does not rattle and cannot be acc' :lentally unlatched,

lt will be' obvious that my improved latch ber ma be used in a .oreat irarietv ol situations c5 besides those described, and the claims hereinafter made are, therefore, to be construed accordingly.

vWhat l' c to secure bj l, loch comprising; a shank pivoted to swing up and down about a horn;ontal anis a downwardly projecting?)` latch ce i" portion `there/oli, and an nog head adjacent to said member at one end portion thereof, an lip-- .vardly extending;- head al1 cent to said latch ineniben and means i r locking said latch member in operative position. Y

3. A loch cor i" sing; a shank pivoted t swing up and do i, about a horizontal axis and havingv a oros,V head at one end portion thereot, the lower portion oit said cross-head constituting; a latch member.

ii.. loch compi-Ling a shank pivoted to swing` up and down about a horizontal anis and liaviiug a downwardly projectigig latch .member at one end portion thereof, an upwardly :tenth p head adjacent to said latch member, and means whereby said shan-lr -fbe rocked to move said latch meruber ont of operatiif'e position.

A loclt ooi'uprising shank pivoted to swing; up i l down about a horizontal axis and havinga cross-bead at one end portion thereof, the lower portion oi said cross-head constituting' a. latch member, and means thereby said shank may be rocked to move said latch men'iber ont ot operati ve position.

6. A lock comprising a shank pivoted to swing up and donau about a horizontal axis and havinga downwardly projecting latch member at one end portion thereof, and an upwardly extending' head adjacent to said latch member, in combiiu 'ion with a keeper adapted to cooperate w 3h said latch ineinber and havingpledging engagement therewit 7. il lock comprising a casing, shank pivoted in said casi 0' to swing; up and down about a substantially horizontal axis and having' a downwardly projecting latch member .fit one end portion thereof adapted to project thi-imoA l casing. and au upwardly extending? head adjacent to said latch member.

S, loci: comprisingv a casing, a shank pivoted in said casing); to swing up and down about a substantially horizontal and having` a dounwzirdlj.' projecting' latch ineinone end portion thereof adapted to project through said casing'. an upwardly extending head adjacent to said latch inember, and a member outside ot said casing t'or rocking said shank to move said latch meinber out or operative position.

9. .A reversible lock comprising a casing, a reversible shank pivotally mounted therein between its ends and having a laterally projecting latch member at one end portion thereof, and slots in said casing for the passage ot said latch member, said slots being equidistant from the pivot of said shank.

10. A reversible lock comprising a casino', a reversible shank pivotally mounted therein between its ends and having a laterally projecting latch lmemherat one end portion thereof, slots in said casing 'for the passage of said latch memberyq said slots being` equidistant *trom the pivot ot' said shank, a lug carried by said shank at -one side of the pivot thereof, and means cooperating with said lug for locking said latch member in operative position.

11.- A reversible lock comprising a casing, a reversible shank pivotally mounted there in between its ends and having a laterally projecting latch member at one end portion ther-coli, the opposite end portion ot' said shank extending out ont said casing7 and slots in said casing ior the passage or said latch member, said slots beine` equidistant from the pivot ot said shank.

12. A lock comprising a casing, a shank pivotally mounted therein to swing in a vertical plane7 and a downwardly projecting latch member carried by said shank at one side ot the pivot thereof and movable down through the lower marginal portion of the casing in a line substantially perpendicular thereto. Y

A3. il. lock comprising a shank pivoted to swing up and down about a horizontal axis and having a Vdownwardly projecting latch member at one end portion thereof, and means adapted to engage said shank and operating to lock said latch member either in operative orin inoperative position.

14. A lock comprising a casing, a shank pivotally mounted therein to Swingin a vertical plane, and a downwardly project- `ing latch member carried by said shank at one side of the pivot thereof andmovable down through theA lower marginal portion of the casing in a line substantially perpendicular thereto:l said shank being` arranged to be reversed to change the position of'said latch member with relation to the casing.

A reversible lock comprising a casing,

a shank pivotally mounted therein to swing up and down and having a projecting latch member extending downwardly beyond the casing, said latch member being arranged to be reversed and locking means mounted in said casing and adapted to lock said latch member when arranged in either of its positions.

'WILLIAM s. WITTEN. 

